Marines fly supplies to part of Philippines reeling from floods

Japan-based Marines are delivering food to a Philippine island where hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced from flooding and landslides.

The island, Mindanao, has been reeling from the effects of heavy rain that fell between Jan. 28 and Feb. 2, displacing an estimated 795,000 people, according to the U.S. embassy in the Philippines.

By the end of Monday, Marines from Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 152 had flown three sorties to Mindanao and then back to an airbase on the Philippines’ main island, according to a U.S. defense official, who shared details on the condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak publicly. The Marines used two KC-130J Super Hercules aircraft to deliver 58,100 pounds of food and a 13,340-pound forklift, according to the official.